The present invention relates to a new and improved method of, and apparatus for, loading or charging a singling or separation apparatus or installation for products, such as printed products, especially a feeder or feeder installation.
Generally speaking, the apparatus for loading or charging a singling apparatus or installation for printed products, especially a feeder or feeder installation, with printed products delivered in an imbricated or shingled stream or formation, contemplates forming an imbricated buffer stack of printed products by reducing, prior to or upstream of the singling installation, the imbrication spacing or pitch of the products in the arriving imbricated stream of printed products so as to form the imbricated buffer stack of printed products.
Also as indicated previously, the invention equally relates to an apparatus for loading or charging a singling installation or apparatus, especially a feeder installation, which is of the type comprising an infeed device which reduces the imbrication spacing or pitch of the printed products of an arriving imbricated or shingled stream or formation of the printed products so as to form an imbricated buffer stack or buffer of printed products and then delivers or conveys the printed products to the singling or separation installation.
Such general type of method and apparatus are disclosed in the German Published Pat. No. 3,608,055, the cognate British Published patent application No. 2,174,681, and the cognate U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,656, granted Jan. 12, 1988. The printed products of the arriving imbricated stream or formation, prior to their infeed to the singling or separation installation or apparatus, are pushed together into a reposing buffer stack by reducing the mutual spacing between or pitch of the products. The length of this buffer stack alters as a function of the infeed rate of the arriving printed products and the withdrawal velocity of printed products from the buffer stack. If, for instance, the arriving imbricated stream of printed products is interrupted, then the buffer stack is reduced in size since, as viewed in the product conveying or feed direction, the forwardmost printed product of the buffer stack is withdrawn or extracted and infed to the singling or separation installation. The buffer stack must be subsequently filled, that is to say, again increased in size in that more printed products of the imbricated stream are pushed onto the rear of the buffer stack than printed products are withdrawn at the front side or front of such buffer stack.
The length of the buffer stack must be of such a magnitude that there can be bridged or spanned interruptions in the delivery of the arriving imbricated stream of printed products without having to shutdown further processing of the printed products in the singling installation. The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,656, teaches the manner in which even longer interruptions in the supply of the printed products and the thus caused appreciable length fluctuations of the buffer stack can be effectively controlled or mastered. Such interruptions in the delivery of the printed products can arise, for instance, during the supply of the loading or charging apparatus with printed products emanating from a wound product package upon exchange of an empty winding core for a fully wound product package.